Naruto Namikaze back in a flash
by p13600d
Summary: Naruto left Konoha to train with Jiraiya for 5 years (basically rewrote the start of Shippuden). When Naruto returns, he sees his friends married and peace between Sand and Leaf. What else has changed, more importantly how did Naruto change? It's up to another blonde ninja to show him, he doesn't have to go through pain alone. STRICTLY NARUTO X INO NO HAREM
1. Chapter 1 Enter Naruto Namikaze

Five years have passed since Naruto went to train with Jiraya, the Toad Sage. Konoha has peacefully continued existing and lives went on. "I can't believe it's been five years since I last saw Naruto", said the pink haired Kunochi to her two friends as they walked down the street. "Y-yes...I know", said Hinata while looking at the ground with sadness in her eyes. Even being married to Kiba last year, she still missed the knucklehead that never gave up. Ino, the last member of the group, just kept quiet thinking how he was now. The time she was around Naruto brightened her day. He might've seemed stupid but when it was time to be serious, that knucklehead was almost as clever as Shikamaru. "I wish he was here" ,she said in a low voice only Sakura could hear. After Ino's little confession the three ninjas continued their trek to the Hokage's Tower.

Tsunade looked up from a pile of paperwork on her desk when she heard a knock at the door. "Enter", said the medic ninja as she watched her apprentices walk in the room. "You have a mission for us Tsunade-sensei?" ,asked Sakura. Looking at the 3 women in the room she said, "I do have a mission for you but let's wait for your team leader to arrive.". "Who is the leader Tsunade-sama?", asked the lavendered eye girl. Tsunade just smiled as a golden flash entered the room inbetween the Hokage and her students. The flash only lasted a sec but not expecting it just stunned her students. After the flash stood a man with long blonde hair wearing a white trench coat the with words "Orange Clone" in orange Kanji on the back and at the end of the coat were orange flames. Over his coat was a giant scroll strapped to his back.

"It's been a while Tsunade-sama" , said the mysterious man. Tsunade sat there were a huge grin on her face, "that it has been but you are still a brat for not knocking." Sakura only knew one person that she called brat, looking with shock in her eyes she asked, "N-Naruto?" Hearing his name, Naruto turned around to see grown up versions of Hinata, Sakura, and Ino just standing there stuck in a trance. Looking at his face they knew it was Naruto, no one else had the whisker marks on their face or those deep blue kind eyes. Something seemed off though, Naruto never passed the chunin exams and here he was wearing a Jounin's vest. Looking up past his eyes she saw his hitai-ate was different, instead of the leaf symbol it had the kanji word for oil. Before she could ask, Tsunade interupted, "you can ask him questions later, now I must inform you of your mission." Turning back around naruto was handed a small scroll, which he read rather quickly. "So they were spotted in wave country", said Naruto. Tsunade nodded, "I want everyone to rest up and move out first thing in the morning and remember don't take risks. These are S-rank ninja or higher and we don't know their skills." Standing up the medic ninja finished, "DISMISSED!" With her final word said the four ninjas walked out of the tower and into a busy street.

They walked quietly for a few minutes until Naruto stopped and turned to his team. "Well I don't know about you guys but I'm starving" ,he said with his famous foxy grin. Before he could react a fist hit him on the top of his head sending him into the dirt road. "BAKA! YOU'VE BEEN GONE FOR FIVE YEARS AND THE FIRST THING YOU SAY TO ME IS I'M STARVING! BAKA BAKA BAKA!" ,yelled a very mad Sakura. "Same old Naruto" ,sighed Ino as she and Hinata tried to pry Naruto out of the ground. "Geez Sakura did your husband start training you with super human weights?" as Naruto stood up. "How did you know I'm married?" , Sakura asked with a puzzled look. He looked at her with a smile and said, "come on let's go get some bbq" then started walking to the bar b que restaurant. "uhm N-Naruto don't you want r-ramen?" ,asked the shy ninja. He stopped and said the words no one ever thought he would say, "I'm actually not in the mood for ramen." Hearing this, the three ninjas just fell over stunned.

When they found a table they liked, the three girls sat down as Naruto removed the giant scroll and leaned it on the booth. After they ordered he said, "ok, you may now question me." Sakura looked at him with sorrow, "why does your headband say oil and are you still a leaf ninja?" He nodded, "of course I'm still a leaf ninja, see?" as he turned to the right to reveal his old leaf headband stitched into the left sleeve of his coat. "The reason I wear this" as he pointed to his forhead, "is because I am the new Toad Sannin." In disbelief Sakura stood up and asked, "what happened to Jiraya-sama?" instantly she regretted it seeing his face change. "I'll talk about that later.." he resonded in a monotone voice with a hint of pain. Ino wanting to lighten the mood looked at him and asked, "where were you for 5 years?" He looked at her with hope in his eyes, "I've been everywhere, just training...believe me when I say, I wish I was here all that time." The three kunoichis saw pain in his eyes as if he has witnessed stuff no one should. After that the food was delievered and as they ate he turned to them and said, "since we are leaving in the morning I want you three to go home and pack and then meet me at Ichiraku Ramen." His team looked at him and asked in unison, "why?" He laughed and continued, "one reason is because I want to learn what happened in the five years I was gone and the second reason is because I might need some help at my house."

After lunch the girls went back to their repective homes to retrieve their ninja gear while Naruto ate some Ichiraku Ramen. Ten minutes passed and Ino was the first to arrive with a pack on her back. "Well one is here", Naruto said with his bright smile. Ino could only blush at the sight. 'EH!? WH-WHY AM I BLUSHING!? IT'S ONLY NARUTO' her blush deepened 'grown up Naruto... Naruto's features have changed dramatically, his eyes were a deeper blue and still showing kindness, his hair was longer but still a gorgeous gold color and those whisker marks on his face just made him...cute.' Before she could say anything Sakura walked up with Hinata, both carrying packs. "Alright everyone is here, let's go" he said as they started walking. After a few minutes they passed his old apartment and Sakura asked, "where are we going? I thought you lived over there?" Turning back Naruto Nodded, "Correct I DID live there." as they kept walking toward the outskirts of town. Thirty minutes passed when the group came to a stop outside an abandoned clan compound. Facing the group Naruto begain, "well we are here" as he gave a big smile. Ino walked up to him and asked, "how can you live here, you don't have a clan?" Still blushing since arriving at Ichiraku Ramen. Before he could respond Hinata was knocked away from the gate by a barrier. He rushed over to her and helped her off the ground. "Sorry, my family really likes their privacy" That is when Sakura knocked him in the ground again yelling, "BAKA" at the top of her lungs. As Hinata returned the favor and helped him up, Ino removed the vines over the plaque to reveal it belonged to the Namikaze Clan.

The three girls' jaws hit the ground before turning toward Naruto. "My real name is Namikaze Naruto and before you send me to the core of the earth, let me explain" Naruto dusted himself off "I didn't know until two years ago." He then walked over to the gate, bit his thumb and pressed it on the swirl seal in the middle of the iron gate. Suddenly the torches on the wall were lit and the gate vanished. After they regained their senses, they realised Naruto didn't move. He only stood there with his head down. Ino walked over to him and asked very softly, "are you ok?" then she saw tears run down his face. Almost instantly Naruto wiped the tears away and put his "mask" on saying, "alright team, let's explore!" before walking briskly toward the big house. Ino stood there in the gateway staring at a man, who was obviously in a lot of pain.


	2. Chapter 2 In the house

Naruto was the first to approach the two story estate. It was a simple house with simple taste. The path to the door was beautiful, it was a stone path with Konoha leaf etched in every third stone. There were lillies along the sides of the stone path that seemed to be preserved from the seal he broke at the gate. When he approached the steps to the porch, Naruto noticed there were rose bushes that lead toward the backyard on each side. Walking up the steps and up to the door, he could only imagine growing up here. "Mommy mommy look what I made in class today", a little naruto holding a picture in both hands approached a faded out woman tending the roses. The woman turned to the little naruto and said, "that is so good Naruto, next time we are at the market we'll get that a frame." Little Naruto jumping up and down, "YAY! I'M GLAD YOU LIKE IT", yelled the child as he hugged the woman, "I love you mommy." Naruto only stared at the image as tears descended down his face .

The girls starting walking toward Naruto while admiring the flowers and the craftmanship of the house. It didn't take someone with Byakugan to tell Naruto was in pain. _'What happened during his training'_ ,thought Hinata with worry in his eyes. _'Maybe I should ask him' _,thought Ino. _'I need to talk to Ino before she does something to ruin her chances'_, thought the pink haired kunoichi as they all approached the blonde at the door. Naruto heard footsteps getting closer, he quickly wiped his tears and acted like he was looking for a key. ***clink* **He looked down and saw the key on the porch. Naruto crouched down and before he could pick it up, Ino grabbed the key and gently placed it in his hand. Instant blush went across their faces as they stood, Hinata and Sakura were trying to suppress their giggles. He quickly unlocked the door and opened it to see the place perfectly entact.

Turning on the lights showed a pretty good size living room with a couch and a fireplace. Off to the left was the dining room and kitchen both furnished. Down the hall lead to the backyard and bath house. Well bath house wasn't the correct term, more like walled hot spring with no ceiling. After checking the backyard, Naruto removed the giant scroll and leaned it on the wall next to the staircase. While ascending the stairs he noticed several pictures but paid them no mind for the time being. Once upstairs he saw a railing on the opposite side of the walk way indicating a balcony, also there were three bedrooms and a bathroom. The first room on his left was a guest room, the room next to it almost killed him. Naruto quickly shut the door and moved on to check out the bath room. It was a simple bathroom, nothing too fancy inside. Finally he walked into the master bedroom and began to poke around. While Naruto was looking around upstairs the three girls were talking in the kitchen. "Ino, you need to know that Naruto holds a lot to himself", said Sakura to the blonde kunoichi. "You never know what Naruto saw in his travels to affect him so much", exclaimed Hinata. ***bam* **"Did you hear that?", asked Ino to her team. Both nodded and ran with Ino upstairs but stopped when they saw Naruto walk to the right. They finished climbing the stairs only to bump into Naruto holding a towel and some clothes. Putting on his "mask" he said, "sorry I'm just going to the hotsprings in the backyard, make yourselves at home and sorry for dragging you three here for nothing. I thought this place would need cleaning." Finishing his sentence he smiled and rushed downstairs. The three approached the only closed door on the left.

Ino opened the door only to see why it was shut, in the blue room was a wooden crib against the far wall. Above it painted on the wall in colorful paint was the name, Naruto. Ino dropped to her knees with tears pouring down her face. All three knew he was an orphan and they could never understand the pain of growing up alone. Hinata was also openly crying, she approached the crib to see a stuffed fox toy next to a new orange blanket. The room had one window, a rocking chair next to the crib and a toy box filled with new baby toys. Sakura was trying to stay strong decided to look out the window. What she saw sent her crashing on the floor with a nose bleed. Hinata was the next victim and fainted when she saw what was out the window. Ino looked outside to realise the fourth hokage didn't make the wall tall enough to block the view of the hot spring. She saw Naruto in a towel resting in the spring. When she got a closer look, she saw scars covered his whole back. It was like Naruto just came back from war. It was then that Naruto stood up and started walking toward a small building next to the spring. "CRAP HE'S COMING BACK", yelled Ino as she got Sakura to her feet. Both kunoichi proceeded to drag a fainted Hinata out of the now "forbidden" room. Ino quietly shut the door as Sakura laid Hinata down in the guest room bed.

_*FIVE MINUTES EARLIER* _"Did I just hear someone yell?", asked Naruto looking around the backyard. He looked at the sky again as it started turning dusk. "I guess, I better assign rooms", he mentioned as he walked back to the house. When Naruto reached the end of the hall, he saw Sakura and Ino sitting in the dining room. Sakura had tissues in her nose with blood stains on them and Ino was shivering like she was cold. "Sakura, are you ok?", he began but only got a nod as her whole face turned red. "Ino? Inooo? INO!?", he shouted snapping her out of her shivers. "Y-Y-Yes", Ino said nervously. "If you are cold, you should try the hot springs. You might want to go too Sakura, you might feel better", Naruto suggested as he entered the kitchen to get a glass of water. Ino talked it over with Sakura and they both nodded, they then pulled out spare clothes from their packs. "Towels are in the shack back there, don't worry they're clean" , he mentioned.

Sakura and Ino were sitting quietly in the hot spring under the night sky. Ino looked over at Sakura as she still had a red face. "Sakura, you saw the scars too?", asked the blonde. "Huh? Oh the scars n-no, he had scars?", responded her friend. Hearing this a sense of jealousy was building up because Sakura saw something she wasn't suppose to. Quickly changing the subject Ino asked, "do you think he is alright?" Sakura looked at her making her blush disappear as she responded, "honestly I don't know, truth be told when we were kids I couldn't see myself caring but why do you have a interest in him?" Ino now the one blushing, "he protected my family's shop from a gang when we were just kids before we became ninjas" she looked at the stars. "I guess that's where I started falling for him."


	3. Chapter 3 Memories

_*FLASHBACK*_

A beautiful day in Konoha, the sun was shining and the flowers were blooming all over the village. All the villagers seemed to be having a wonderful day, as they were out shopping or meeting friends and family. Little five year old Ino was watching the shop as her mother cleaned their house. Ino's family owns a flower shop that is connected to their house in the back. Ino was excited because today was going to prove to her parents that she can be responsible. As she sat on a stool behind the counter waiting for a customer, Ino suddenly felt like something was off. Looking up from her daze she saw several burly men with homemade weapons standing in her shop looking directly at her.

"Well well well, aren't you a pretty little thing eh sunshine?", taunted a smaller man with purple hair and sunglasses. "Why don't you be a good girl and call your parents in here so we can...discuss business", he continued with a evil grin. "MOM!", yelled a frightened Ino while she was unable to take her eyes off the weapons they carried. Seconds later her mother, Noriko Yamanaka, rushed into the shop with a broom in her hands. Seeing her enter the shop, the purple haired bandit began, "it's been a while Noriko, did you miss me?" A scowl went across her face, quickly turning to Ino, "INO GO GET YOUR FATHER NOW!" Instantly Ino jumped down and ran outside but was grabbed by one of the goons. "LET ME GO YOU BULLY!", she yelled while squirming in his arms. "HAHAHA this little girl is a fighter" he leaned toward her ear, "listen little one if you don't move we won't kill your mommy." Horror plastered on her face at the thought of them killing her, then she just slumped in his arm as he smiled. "Good girl, now lets go ba-", he was interupted as his left leg bent backwards snapping. "**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT THE HELL!"**, the man yelled as he looked up to see a blonde boy helping the girl to her feet.

Hearing the commotion the rest of the gang and Ino's mom rushed outside, only to see their buddy on the ground with his leg broken and the blonde girl hiding behind a blonde boy. "Hey you little punk, do you know who we are?" asked the supposed leader. The blonde looked at him after whispering to the girl and said, "punks." Getting all flustered the men approached the boy as the girl ran away, "see you shouldn't have said that...you really hurt my feelings" as the man swung a crowbar, knocking the child across the street. "You need to learn manners kid", the man said as he snapped his fingers. Hearing the noise the remaining men walked over to the kid and started hitting him with their weapons. Noriko could only watch knowing there was nothing she could do. All of a sudden the men stopped and one mentioned, "**WHAT THE HELL I CAN'T MOVE!**" Looking down they saw what looked like a really long shadow that split off till it connected with theirs. Before they could say anymore, two giant hands picked up the four punks. The leader seeing is crew being indisposed decided to run but only run into a person making the purpled hair freak fall on the ground. Looking up he saw a tall man wearing a long black trench coat, underneath he saw a jonin vest. The man had a long blonde pony tail and blue-green eye deadlocked on him. Before the punk could get up the blonde man held his hands up like a yen yang symbol and the punk fell over drooling.

Seeing the men taken care of, Noriko rushed to the young Naruto. The sight would've made the most hardcore shinobi feel sick. Naruto was barely breathing and all his limbs were broken. His face was swealing up and his nose was broken. All around the poor boy was blood. As she looked at the boy, she couldn't figure out how to help. Turning back toward the long hair man she yelled, "INOICHI WE NEED MEDICS!" As he walked to his wife two medic ninjas appeared on each side of the boy. They loaded him onto a stretcher but before they walked away Inoichi walked up and said, "Take him inside, I know what the hospital staff does to this boy." Not wanting to argue with the man, who can destroy anyone's mind, they complied and walked into the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Five days passed and Naruto finally woke up in a room he never saw before. As he looked around, he noticed the Third Hokage standing in the door talking to a man with a long ponytail. "YOU'RE AWAKE", a shocked Ino sitting by the bed gasped getting the attention of the two men. "Playing the hero already, Naruto?", asked the Third Hokage in a joking manner. 'Naruto?", Ino thought while looking at the bandaged child. Inoichi saw his daughter's confused face and proceeded to lead her out of the room, "Now honey, go help mommy with the shop. " Before she could protest, Inoichi shut the door behind her. He then turned and walked to the boy. Naruto looked at him curiously. The blonde Jonin cleared his throat and began, "Naruto, thank you for saving my daughter today. If there is anything we can do, don't hesitate to ask" , he sad with a big smile. Unsure what to say, young Naruto just nodded.

A week has passed since Naruto first woke up. Now fully healed the boy quietly walked into the living room where the family was gathered. He stood before them and bowed, thanking them for helping him. When he entered the store part, Ino stopped him and gave the little boy a hug and a purple tulip that she has been trying to grow for a year. When he accepted the gift tears descended down his face as he thanked her before running out of the store and down the street. Ino overheard her father talking to her mother in the door behind her, "that must be the first gift that boy every received." Her mother only nodded at the sad fact.

_*FLASHBACK OVER*_

Ino sighed at the sad memory and Sakura could only guilty for treating him so bad when they were kids. "You ready to go back inside forehead?" Ino said trying to lighten the mood. A tick mark appeared near Sakura's left eye, "WHAT DID YOU SAY INO PIG?!" The blonde only laughed as she stood up, "come on I smell something good cooking" she said as they both walked to the changing shed. Once back inside They saw Naruto sitting at the dining room table holding a scroll looking happy. Both kunoichis turned to see Hinata cooking something in the kitchen. Sakura was the first to sit down as Ino checked on Hinata. "What's that scroll Naruto?, asked the curious pink hair shinobi. He smiled and said, "my most precious treasure, would you like to see it?" Sakura nodded as Naruto opened it and applied chakra to the seal. To her amazment it was a single purple tulip. Ino saw it from the kitchen and almost fainted as her heart almost stopped. _'My gift was his most precious treasure' _,she thought as tears formed in her eyes. Ino quickly turned back to helping Hinata as they finished cooking.

"Ah that was delicious", exclaimed a full Naruto. Everyone looked pleased with the meal but more importantly to see Naruto act more like himself. He stood up, "ladies, there are two bedrooms up stairs. One is a master bedroom and the other is a guest room. So two of you can sleep in the master and one in the guest." "Don't worry about cleaning up", he said as he pick up dishes "I'll take care of it, then I'm sleeping on the couch." Hearing this upset Ino, "NARUTO THIS IS YOUR HOUSE...you should sleep in the master bedroom." He raised his hand to defend his case, "Ino you are right but I dragged you girls here for no reason, it's only fair that you sleep in the only beds." Seeing that he won't budge, she nodded and walked upstairs with her pack followed by the other two. As he watched them disappear in the staircase he thought,_ 'sleep well my team for tomorrow will be bad'_.


	4. Chapter 4 A Night To Remember

Naruto waited a few hours after the girls went upstairs, the last thing he wanted was to keep them up all night. The blonde then proceeded to the back yard and after finding a big enough space started his summoning jutsu. Naruto bit his thumb allowing a little blood to come out, then quickly ran through the hand signs before slamming his hand on the ground. 'Kuchiyose no Jutsu', thought Naruto as a good amount of smoke puffed out with a loud ***BAM***. Hoping he didn't wake the girls, Naruto turned toward the house to see no lights on. After seeing no lights he let out a satisfying sigh. **"Yo bro, you called?"**, said Gamakichi a bit louder than Naruto wanted. "Shhhhhhh, Gamakichi please keep it down", Naruto asked nervously. The giant toad, about the size of a castle, looked on with confusion.

_*MOMENTS EARLIER*_

Ino sat up in bed and looked around the room to see what the loud crash was. Looking to her left was her pink haired friend still sound asleep. _'Good God, what does it take to wake her up? Then again she did marry the youthful green idiot'_, thought the blonde with a tick mark over her left eye. She got up and walked to the window. To her amazement there was a giant frog thing sitting in the backyard. Luckily she Noticed Naruto standing on its nose before she could let out a blood-curdling scream. Getting a hold of herself, she tried to make out what they were saying.

"Gamakichi, I need you to be ready for tomorrow. We will be in Wave Country and that means salt water", Naruto said to his giant friend. The toad looked at him, deep in thought, **"So you want to use that technique so soon bro?"** Naruto smiled and responded, "Even though we came up with it last week, I think we are ready..also if it works, which it should, then toads no longer will be itchy in or around salt water." Gamakichi let a smirk cross his face, **"You are gutsy bro, and that's why I like you, I'll see you tomorrow." **With his final word said, the giant amphibian vanished in a puff of smoke allowing Naruto to drop on the ground.

_'I wonder what that was about? What technique?'_, Ino thought as she watched the new toad sage walk toward the house. Hearing the back door close, she rushed into bed fearing she would be caught awake. Sakura woke up by the sudden movement in bed and looked at Ino who was lost in her thoughts. *Yawn* "what are you doing Ino?", asked a very tired Sakura. The blonde looked at her with emptiness in her eyes, "nothing, good night billboard brow." Sakura let another yawn escape and said, "good night Ino" before turning around and falling asleep. A few seconds passed before the pink haired shinobi realised what the blonde said. Almost instantly standing on the bed holding Ino by the collar of her shirt yelling, **"MY FOREHEAD IS NOT THAT BIG!" **Naruto hearing Sakura shout something, rushed upstairs and into the room with a kunai in his hand. Both girls looked at the blonde as their faces turned bright red. Naruto forgot he was dressed for bed, he was only wearing his daytime shirt and boxers. "na...ru...to", Sakura started as she dropped a stunned Ino. **"YOU FUCKING PERVERT!"**, she yelled as she punched him with enough force to knock him down the hall and into the far wall by the "forbidden" room. Hinata opened the guest room just in time to see Naruto's legs sticking out of the wall with a pair of boxers hanging off his right ankle like a flag. Seeing the picture coming into view she did her trademark faint into the guest room. After seeing her faint made Sakura even more upset as she started walking toward the unconscious man. As she got to the "pervert", Sakura raised her leg to stomp him into dust when she just fell asleep. Ino was in the hall with her hands looking like a yen yang sign, 'don't you dare hurt him' thought the blonde.

After dragging Sakura back to bed and putting Hinata in her bed, Ino was tired. The new jutsu her father taught her takes a lot of energy. As she closed the door to Hinata's room, Ino saw what Hinata saw and it just made her blush. Trying not to look made the task of reapplying the boxers a lot harder. When the boxers were in place, she pried Naruto out of the wall, _'this is starting to be a pattern'_, thought Ino with a smile. She was not as skilled a medic ninja as Sakura but the injuries on him looked simple enough to fix. Ino sat there with a green glow over her hands as she healed minor bruising and cuts. When she finished, she was exhausted to the point where her legs were numb. Ino propped up against Naruto and used his right shoulder as a pillow as she drifted into dream land. Naruto woke up a few minutes after Ino passed out on his shoulder. He had an incredible headache but what he saw melted his heart. Looking on his right shoulder was a blonde haired head. The toad sage decided to deal with the headache to enjoy the moment in the hall. Naruto gently rested his head against Ino's and a few minutes later fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5 Road To Answers

Ino was awaken by a bright light shining in her face. As her vision cleared, she saw that she was laying on a futon mattress in the hallway with a blanket over her. _'Didn't I fall asleep next to Naruto, or was it all a dream?'_, she thought as she got up and stretched. That is when she saw the hole in the wall where Naruto was punched into. _'It wasn't a dream'_, thought the blonde as a blush crossed her face,_ 'but where is Naruto?' _At that moment Hinata came out of her room nervously turning toward a sleepy Ino. "Oh Ino I-I didn't see you there..", Hinata confessed as she nervously played with her fingers. Ino saw through the innocent act, _'she's a closet pervert...who would've thought.' _Snapping out of her thoughts, "yea last night Sakura punched Naruto into the wall here", she pointed to the hole, "over a simple misunderstanding." They Hyuuga blushed, "o-oh r-really? I-is Naruto-kun ok?" Pure shock crossed Ino's face, _'kun? KUN!? last I checked Miss Princess, you have a man LEAVE MINE ALONE!' _Looking at Ino's face, the shy kunoichi knew she messed up. Ino walked over to the heiress with a kill intent strong enough to make any rogue ninja run in fear. Right before the blonde reached Hinata a call was heard, **"BREAKFAST! YOU MIGHT WANT TO HURRY, WE HAVE TO LEAVE IN A FEW MINUTES!" **Ino leaned close to shy girl and whispered, "this isn't over, and never call him Naruto-kun again or I'll tell Kiba." Afterward Ino joyfully walked downstairs leaving a terrified Hinata trembling, _'curse my old habit...I wish I waited for Naruto.'_

When Ino reached the dining room, Sakura was already there digging into a stack of pancakes. "Hey Naruto, sorry for punching you...and...breaking your wall", Sakura said with a sad expression. He looked over at her with a smile, "It's ok Sakura, Ino-chan fixed me up." Both girls looked at him in shock as they thought, _'Ino...chan?' _Breaking the silence of the room, he took notice of Ino, "hey Ino-chan come eat, there's plenty of food", he said with his foxy grin. The blonde kunoichi blushed and nodded as she proceeded to sit at the table. Finally a shaky Hinata entered the dining room and sat at the table. The three kunoichis finished their meals and went upstairs to put their battle gear on as Naruto cleaned the table. Ino was the first down wearing a purple sleeveless shirt with matching purple shorts and her chunin vest unzipped over her shirt. The next one was the impossibly strong Sakura wearing a red long sleeve shirt with black ANBU pants with her chunin vest zipped up over her shirt. Finally Hinata wearing her traditional Hyuuga jacket with bluish-purple pants and her chunin vest was zipped up over her jacket came into the room. All three looked at Naruto as he wore the same outfit as yesterday. "Naruto", began Sakura, "why are you wearing a jonin vest? You never became chunin." He looked at her with a smile, "after my first three months training I receive a scroll from Tsunade-sama saying I should've been chunin all along. Then I became jonin when I spent more than two years outside the village on a mission." Ino looked worried, "mission? What mission?" The jonin looked at her and said, "I was hunting rogue ninjas and training." Before any more questions came up he began, "OK TEAM, our mission is to go to Wave Country and look for two rogue ninjas wearing black trench coats with red clouds and they should have scratched headbands.

His team looked at him confused. Naruto continued, "these two rogue ninjas are part of a group called the Akatsuki. So far their mission is unclear but we do know they are hunting Jinchūrikis, or better known as humans with tailed beasts sealed in them. To give a better example, one of the Jinchūrikis is Gaara of the Sand." Shock appeared on their faces, in order to prevent a barrage of questions he held his hand up. "Gaara was mistreated and forced to do what he did...he is still a human and my friend", he finished. Naruto's team looked at each other then nodded, agreeing that Gaara was in fact a good person,, who saved Lee from one of Orochimaru's Sound ninja. Looking at his team Naruto asked, "any questions?" Sakura stepped up, "what's our plan?" His smile vanished and now a serious man stood in front of them. He began, "the plan is, I will attack them. Sakura you need all your energy for healing in case something goes wrong. Ino-chan and Hinata will back me up if I give the signal." The kunoichi instantly protested as he put his hand up silencing them. "I wasn't suppose to come back to the village until these two men were dead. Jiraiya-sensei...died leaving me without someone to watch my back in case something went wrong", he deadpanned. Naruto continued as he looked at his team with a small smile, "I'm counting on everyone to trust me." All three nodded as his smile grew. "Alright let's get going."

Team Naruto stopped a little after noon to grab some lunch. Naruto studied the sun placement and after a little while discovered they are about 6 hours away with their current speed. Sakura looked at their leader and started laughing, "Naruto using maps and a compass, that is a first" as she continued laughing. He looked at her with a straight face, "I knew where we were the whole time. The maps you see are for a side objective that Tsunade-sama thought I would be interested in." Hearing the once proud failure's reason of the maps killed the humor of the situation."N-Naruto? What objective is that?", asked the Hyuuga heiress. Naruto knew he had to come clean now, with a sigh he said, "Whirlpool, where the Uzumaki Clan is from." Many things shocked the women since Naruto's return, but this topped the charts. "But Naruto...you are a Namikaze, why would you be interested?", asked the pink hair shinobi as Ino just watched. Looking at the beautiful blue sky, he answered, "my mother is from whirlpool." Sakura looked down knowing she should've stayed quiet. She looked up, when she felt a hand on her shoulder, to see a smiling Naruto. "I want my team, no, my friends to know everything they want to know of me...but there is a time and a place" he turned his head as if he heard something, "now is not the time."


	6. Chapter 6 Friends and Feelings

Naruto quickly turned around just in time to deflect 4 kunais with his custom made three-pronged kunai. Without warning two black-clad, mask wearing ninjas started attacking, pulling him away from his group. The punches and kicks kept on coming as a giant barrier surround Naruto and the two unknown ninjas. As Naruto deflected punches and kicks, that seemed awfully familiar, more weapons were thrown from the surrounding shrubbery. He was able to dodge or reflect all the weapons but one shuriken, which made contact with his left shoulder. The pain distracted him long enough to be kicked by both attacking ninjas sending the toad sannin into the new barrier. Naruto stood up with a cocky grin on his face and removed the shuriken from his shoulder, "that was a nice warmup, now let the real fight began", as he entered Sage Mode.

His team members were trying to bring the barrier down but nothing seemed to work. **"WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!"**, yelled Ino as she frantically punched the barrier. Hinata with her byakugan active just smiled as she tried to calm her teammate down. Naruto still holding his smile reached into his two kunai pouches on his backside, pulling out several three pronged kunai knives. "Now the party begins", he said while throwing said knives in all directions. Watching outside the barrier, his actions caught the eye of a certain pink haired shinobi. "Why did he just waste those kunais?", asked Sakura while looking at her friends, who only shrugged as a response. Looking calm Naruto assessed the situation. _'The first one that needs to be taken down is the weapon master, then I'll take tweedle dee and tweedle dum here.' _Using Sage Mode he Spotted his target in a heavily wooded area where some of his kunai were thrown, he began his turn. Naruto charged at the two ninjas with incredible speed but right before he made contact he vanished in a golden flash. The enemy shinobi looked around but he was no where to be found. In the wooded area another ninja was looking around the battlefield for their prey. Without being detected Naruto held his three-pronged kunai at the throat of the "weapon master" with a big smile on his face. "Hello, Tenten", he said surprising his enemy. The blonde continued, "you can tell Neji and Lee to back down now." Tenten let out a heavy sigh as she dropped her henge, revealing a brown haired girl wearing a red qipao-style blouse and black pants with a chunin vest opened over her blouse. Further inspection showed she had scrolls strapped to her bascially anywhere she could get easy access, mainly the legs and a giant one on her back.

A few minutes later Tenten emerged from the tree line with a very happy Naruto following. "Alright guys drop the act, he figured it out", she said in a huff. The mystery ninjas obeyed and dropped the henges to reveal Neji wearing a white Hyuga jacket and matching slacks with a zipped up jonin vest, and Rock Lee wearing his usual green jumpsuit with orange legwarmers and a zipped up chunin vest. While Lee started running to Naruto, Neji dropped the barrier. **"NARUTOOOO MY YOUTHFUL FRIEND, I SEE THE YEARS YOU HAVE BEEN GONE ALLOWED YOU TO STAY YOUNG AND STRON-"**, Lee was interrupted by Sakura sending him through a tree. **"WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT SPEAKING LIKE A IDIOT ALL THE TIME?!"**, she yelled as she charged for another attack. While Lee was distracted, Neji took this chance to greet his old rival and friend. "Hello naruto", he said while extending his hand, "it's been too long." Naruto gladly accepted his hand, "that it has, how have you been Neji?" The Hyuga shrugged, "no complaints, married Tenten two years ago and helped the change in the Hyuga clan." Naruto gave his friend a big smile, "I'm glad everything is better for you Neji, maybe one day we can remove that curse mark." Neji looked at the blonde and smiled, "already done, see?", as he removed his headband. Naruto gave his foxy grin with a thumbs up**, "ALRIGHT! GOOD FOR YOU!" **Tenten held her ears and thought, _'how did a loudmouth sneak up on me?'_

Ino walked up beside Naruto and greeted everyone as Hinata tried to pull Sakura away from a dying Lee. "So what are you guys doing here?" asked Ino to the couple. Before they could respond a voice was heard from behind them, "I sent them." Turning around revealed Tsunade and Shizune. "Tsunade-sama, why are you here?", asked a puzzled Naruto. Tsunade let out a soft sigh, "I'm starting to miss you calling me baa-chan, you brat...but the reason I'm here is to see your test." The toad sage looked at her confused, "what test?" Shizune decided to respond, seeing he is still thick in the head, "Tsunade-sama came up with a way to test how your training went", she looked at the ground in sadness, "I'm sorry to inform you but there is no new information on the whereabouts of the Akatsuki." Naruto looked at the ground with a pained expression but recovered almost instantly while putting on his "mask". "It's ok nee-san", as naruto smiled at her, "they can't hide forever." He pulled out the maps and looked at Tsunade but she held a hand up, "that's your real mission and team Neji is joining you." Naruto started to thank her but pause, _'why send another team? Are the Akatsuki really there and she doesn't want Shizune to know?'_ his face grew depressed, _'I know she is over-protective of me but seriously that over-protective?'_ Tsunade looked at his face knowing he found out the truth.

"Well brat continue on your mission, I have paperwork to do", the hokage said as she disappeared in a puff of smoke with Shizune. "EH?! A SHADOW CLONE", the rest of Team Naruto said with surprise on their faces. Naruto looked at the spot where they stood, "thank you baa-chan." Quickly turning around he told his team to pack up and get ready to move out. While looking at the sky, Naruto was approached by Neji. "So what's the mission?", asked the Hyuga. Naruto still studying the placement of the sun responded, "we are to go to the old whirlpool village and I'm suppose to find answers of my mother's clan." Hearing the response didn't shock Neji but the way it was said shocked him. _'What happened to you while you were away Naruto?'_, thought his rival. As soon as his team was pack, Team Naruto and Team Neji continued toward Wave Country.

When dusk hit, both teams were approaching a bridge. Naruto called everyone to slow down once they were on the bridge itself. Ino looked to the left side of the bride to see a sign. It read, _'This bridge is named after the hero of this village, one who did the impossible and brought hope and a will of fire to these once forgotten lands.'_ At the bottom of the description was the name in big bold letters, _**THE GREAT NARUTO BRIDGE**_. "EH!? Naruto-kun, you're a hero here?" ,asked a surpised Ino. He laughed seeing her facial expression, "so is Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei but since I helped the bridge builder's grandson, he must have named the bridge after me." Sakura walked up, "actually Naruto did more than Sasuke or myself", she looked at the sign, "he brought hope to a people that forgot what hope was." They stood in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Naruto interrupted, "well I think we should find a inn or something and begin our actual mission tomorrow." As they walked through town, they saw a few villagers looking at them whispering things to one another. The groups ignored the people because in countries with no ninja village it's rare to see ninjas. They continued their trek until a little girl, about five years old, ran up to Naruto and gave him a flower. "Thank you for saving my mommy and daddy", said the girl, "they tell me stories of the blonde ninja with fox whiskers, who saved the town from greed and misery." Seeing the little girl run back to her parents, melted Ino's heart as she remembered the day she first met Naruto. _'He sacrifices so much for nothing in return'_ ,thought the blonde kunoichi with a smile.

After about thirty minutes the teams finally found a inn that wasn't packed. Naruto walked up to the counter to see a women in her twenties reading a magazine. "Uhm excuse me miss, I would like to rent some rooms for the night", stated Naruto with a foxy grin. The young woman looked up from her magazine only to be struck by cupid's arrow. There standing before her was a very attractive ninja with the most goregous smile she ever saw. Ino looked at the woman with pure jealousy as she stood beside Naruto, trying to give the woman a hint. Finally taking notice of Ino standing next to the blonde male, she took the hint and sighed. "We have three rooms available", she said as she counted the people, "but I'm afraid there are only two beds in each room." Naruto continued to smile, "that's ok, we'll take them." He paid for the rooms and received the keys before turning back to the group. "Hinata and Tenten, your room is five", he said as he handed Tenten a key. Turning to Neji and Lee, "your room is six and Sakura and Ino-chan your room is seven." Noticing he had no more keys Neji asked the blonde, "where are you staying?" Naruto looked at the clock and gave a sigh before answering his rival, "don't worry about me, I'll think of something." No one in the group liked Naruto not having a bed to sleep in but at this hour it would be next to impossible to find another room. Still looking at the Hyuga, "No Neji or Lee" as he shot a quick glance at Konoha's green beast, "I won't take your beds..now everyone rest well and tomorrow we will be in Whirlpool." With his final word said, Naruto turned and walked out a back door of the inn.

It was a clear and beautiful night as Naruto sat under a tree behind the inn. Before the blonde knew it, he was asleep as a cool breeze blew across his face. Ino watched at the door as Naruto drifted into dreamland. She waited an hour, giving Sakura time to fall asleep, before approaching the young man. To her surpise Naruto was awake already and looked to be deep in thought. "Naruto-kun?", asked Ino while sitting down next to him. Snapping out of his trance he looked to the left and saw the beautiful blonde. "Ino-chan..h-how may I help you?", stuttered Naruto. Ino just grabbed his hand, after several minutes of the two blondes looking at each other, and stood up. After pulling him to his feet she then lead him into the inn and outside her room. Both their faces turned a bright red as she opened the door. Once inside Ino removed his giant scroll, trench coat, and jonin vest as his face only grew redder. As she removed her ninja sandals, he removed his, then Ino grabbed his hand and lead him to her bed as her heart started beating faster. She implied that he should lay down and after he did, she laid next to him. Pulling a blanket over them, Ino proceeded to lay her head on his chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. _'Is this what love is suppose to feel like?'_, Thought Naruto as he looked down to see a sleeping Ino on his chest with a smile on her face. 'Ino, I think I love you...I think I always have', he thought as drowsiness took hold him and before he knew it, he was truely asleep.


	7. Chapter 7 Truth Comes Out

Naruto found himself in a bright room with water on the floor. The room appeared to not have any doors, windows, walls, or ceiling. It didn't take long to discover where he was, now the true question is why is he here?** "NARUTO, YOU SEEM TO BE CONFUSED"** , said a loud thundering voice behind the young ninja. "Kurama...why am I here", asked the blonde to a very large, red, multi-tailed fox. The beast looked at Naruto with concern, something he thought he would never feel in his life. **"WHY ARE YOU CONFUSED OVER THIS...INO-CHAN?" **Naruto was actually surprised, _'the old fox is...worried about me?' _Looking up at his tenant he said in a sad voice, "I'm not as much confused as I am worried, what if Ino hates me because I contain the nine-tailed fox that killed members of her clan." Kurama continued looking at the man before him as he contemplated the situation.

_*MEANWHILE IN THE REAL WORLD*_

"HE'S NOT WAKING UP!, Ino yelled in panic as Sakura used her medical ninjutsu to scan over his body. "How long has he been like this?", asked Hinata as she used her Byakugan to locate the source of the problem. Sakura responded without looking up, "two hours, we thought that he was playing possum but.." "NARUTO! please wake up", said a very distraught blonde. The medium size room was now filled with both teams, all eyes on Naruto. Sakura stopped "scanning" and looked at Hinata. "He doesn't have any physical issues that I could find...and I was very thorough." The Hyuga heiress deactivated her Byakugan, "nothing is wrong with his chakra coils." Looking at the two fellow medical students Ino stuttered, "t-that's impossible, i-if there's nothing wrong physica-", she looked stunned, "HIS MIND! SOMEONE CATCH ME, I'M GOING IN!" Without giving anyone a chance Ino used her _Mind Transfer Jutsu, _making her body fall off the bed and onto the wooden floor.

_*BACK IN NARUTO'S SUBCONSCIOUS*_

Ino suddenly found herself in a bright room with water on the floor. The room seemed to go on forever and what she saw next terrified the living Hell out of her. A giant fur covered creature with multiple tails sat before her with its back toward her. _'I heard of everyone having inner demons but this...this is going too far'_, thought the terrified blonde. After a few secs she thought she heard someone talking. "You see my point? If Ino-chan found out about you...she will never love me...", stated Naruto. A booming chuckle came from the fox, **"WELL NARUTO, I GUESS WE ARE ABOUT TO SEE IF SHE ACCEPTS YOU"** as one of the many tails wrapped around Ino and pulled her around to the front of the creature. "AHHHH DON'T EAT ME!", Ino yelled while forgetting she could undo the jutsu. **"EAT YOU? NO, YOU ARE TOO IMPORTANT TO THE KIT..BESIDES NINJA ARMOR HURTS THE GUMS." **As Kurama lowered Ino till she was in front of Naruto, then he released her. "I-Ino-chan?", Naruto asked dumbfoundingly. Ino still shaken from the giant multi-tailed fox, looked at Naruto with much worry. "Naruto-kun who is that?", she asked while raising a shaky finger to the fox. Knowing his secret has been discovered, he sighed, "that is Kurama...the Nine-Tailed Fox." Ino's eyes went wide as she dropped to her knees, making a big splash in the water. He sat on his knees in front of her, "and I'm his Jinchūriki", afterward he lowered his head as tears escaped his eyes. She looked at Naruto not with fright or anger but pity and sorrow. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you with your pain", she pleaded. The answer she seeked didn't come from Naruto but from the nine-tails himself, **"HE FEARED THAT YOU WOULD HATE HIM BECAUSE I KILLED YOUR KIN, YOUR FRIENDS, AND DESTROYED HALF YOUR VILLAGE...BUT WHAT HE DOESN'T KNOW IS THE FACT I WAS MANIPULATED FROM THE START BY A UCHIHA" **Karuma continued, **"I EVEN KILLED HIS PARENTS OUT OF PURE RAGE, AN ACTION I REGRET TO THIS DAY."** Ino lifted Naruto's face to look him in the eyes, "I love you Naruto-kun and nothing will change that", she smiled, "but you will have to come clean with everything so I can help you." He looked at her in disbelief as Kurama chuckled at the sight of young love. **"ALRIGHT YOU TWO, GET OUT OF HERE..AND INO?"**, Ino turned to the fox, **"TAKE CARE OF NARUTO..YOU HAVE A LOT OF PAIN TO HEAL AND YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE FOR THE JOB." **When he finished speaking, the room got brighter and brighter till it was a blinding light.

_*BACK IN THE REAL WORLD*_

"I think he's waking up", stated the pink haired shinobi. Naruto's eyes cracked open then shut immediately then opened fully with a few blinks. Before Naruto opened his eyes, Ino was already off the ground and hovering over him since she is use to the action of leaving one's mind. "NARUTO-KUN!", yelled the excited blonde as she hugged her man. Seeing he was ok, the room erupted in cheers and questions were thrown at the two lovers. Standing on the bed Ino released her killing intent to quiet the racket as Sakura helped Naruto sit up. "All I'm going to say is that Naruto was fighting some internal demons but now he is fine",Ino announced before turning to her boyfriend, giving him a wink. Neji knew that wasn't the case, looking at Naruto's expression proved to him that there was more to the story, but he won't push it. _'Naruto will talk when he wants to'_, thought the Hyuga. Seeing that Naruto look disturbed, Neji decided to take temporary command until the blonde was back to his former self. "Everyone gather your things and wait by the front of the inn, give Naruto some space." With that command, everyone but Naruto, Ino, and Sakura left the room. Sakura watched Naruto and Ino out of the corner of her eye as she packed her backpack. "It will be ok Naruto", Ino said with a reassuring smile while helping him out of bed. He stood beside the bed with his eyes lock on her's. "Thank you Ino-chan", he said as they embraced in each others arms. After the hug, Naruto walked over to his gear and started putting it on as Sakura walked over to Ino. "What really happened in his mind?" Sakura asked her friend. The blonde looked at Sakura and responded, "I'm not a liberty to say, if he wants you to know then he will tell you." With her final word Ino started packing her backpack while Sakura looked at her with a hurt expression.

Everyone waited outside for Naruto and Ino to show up as they discussed theories on what happened. The groups stopped talking when they heard the inn door open, they turned around to see the two blonde ninjas looking very tired. Naruto looked at the teams and saw Neji wasn't with them. "Where is Neji?", questioned the leader to anyone who could answer. That is when Tenten stepped out of the cluster of ninja, "he went to the docks to find a boat, we were suppose to meet him there when you were ready." Naruto looked at her with a puzzled look as he pulled out a map. Tenten continued, "he said that acquiring a boat here is easier than the docks in Land of Fire, plus he is worried about your health so we are going to be taking it easy on a two day boat ride." Afterwards she gave him a nudge, "plenty of time to spend with Ino-chan eh?" The group burst into laughter as Naruto and Ino turned a deep red. "I-I guess w-we should go to the docks then", he responded as both blonds walked away briskly. After thirty minutes the teams arrived at the docks, everyone was calmed down and ready for anything. The group walked past several boats all ranging from small dinghies to large fishing boats. After walking down the docks for five minutes, Naruto finally saw a familiar person. It was Neji and he was shaking someone's hand before turning and walking to the group of ninja. Once the Hyuga got close enough, he started, "alright I got us a decent size boat and it's fairly new." Neji put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "It's going to take at least two days but I figured you could use the down time." Naruto nodded before turning around to the group, "Sakura I need you to make sure we have enough medical supplies." He turned to the shy shinobi, "Hinata, I need you to make sure we have plenty of food and just in case try to get us some limes or oranges" The blonde looked at Ino but was interrupted before he could speak. "Oh no, I'm not leaving your side, I don't care if you out-rank me. I'm still a medical ninja and you are under my care", mentioned the blonde to her boyfriend with a blush across her face. Stunned he turned to the group only to find them giggling. Defeated, Naruto hung his head in shame as Ino lead him to the ship Neji acquired. A couple of hours later, everyone was on board a medium sized sailboat storing the supplies below deck. Shortly after securing supplies and checking the sails, the teams removed the rope keeping the ship at the dock and sailed downstream.

It was about 1 o'clock when they decided to break for lunch. Naruto knew this was the time to share his thoughts. _'If they hate me, then I will go it alone in a dinghy', _thought a worried Naruto. He stood up and walked up the mast to the first boom. _**(The boom is any horizontal "member" pole or tubing that attached to the mast.) **_The blonde looked at his friends, as they ate their lunches , hoping they will accept him. He whistled getting everyone's attention as he attempted eye contact with them. "I have something to say...something that has been with me my whole life and I had no choice but to accept", he began. His words caused their faces to show worry and sorrow as they listened. Before continuing Naruto removed his scroll and trenchcoat, dropping them on the deck. Next he removed his jonin vest only to drop it as well. Finally the blonde removed his dark blue, long-sleeved shirt with red swirls on the shoulders. Everyone's faces showed horror as they looked the the young man's chest. His chest was covered in scars, like those you only see on senior ninjas who went to war. Noticing their faces Naruto continued, "the scars are not the worst part, they are only here to remind me of past events." He started channeling chakra and after a few seconds a seal appeared on his navel. "I...I am", finding it harder to say the words, **"I AM THE jinchūriki OF THE NINE-TAILED FOX!" **Forcing the words out, forced tears to run down his face as he expected his friends to hate him. After a few minutes of quiet sobbing, Naruto looked to see his friends with worry and pity on their faces. Ino rushed over to him and helped him off the boom. Still in her arms, he addressed the group, "y-you don't hate me?" Neji stood up and responded, "why would we hate you? Without you there would be no Konoha...as far as I'm concerned, you're a hero." At that point everyone started agreeing and rushed over to Naruto. Tenten was admiring his body changes, the well-toned muscles, the scars, and the sun-kissed skin. _'Who would've thought Naruto would be so...HOT'_, thought the turned on weapon master. Looking at Tenten's expression gave a good idea what the girls were thinking. Ino quickly stood in front of Naruto, "Sorry ladies but he's taken...and besides some husbands are here", she stated with a wink.


End file.
